There is a tenant, a solid plan and at least a short-term baseball future for Telus Field.

And that’s good enough for the time being.

In November 2015, the City of Edmonton issued a request for proposals from entities interested in operating the river valley jewel as a baseball venue from 2016 through 2020.

The city received one proposal.

The Journal has learned the proponent is the Edmonton Prospects, the summer collegiate level baseball team founded in 2005 as the Edmonton Big River Prospects. It has called Telus Field its occasional home since 2012.

“Negotiations are ongoing and we remain extremely optimistic that a baseball solution for the facility will be the eventual outcome,” Patrick Cassidy, the team’s managing partner, said Friday in an email.

“I can tell you that we will certainly be fielding a team at this venue and that we are excited about this year’s crop of recruits.”

Brad Badger, director of programs and events for the city’s community facility services branch, would not identify the proponent. He said negotiations began shortly before Christmas and continue.

“The goal is to have everything in place February 19,” Badger said. “We want to get this done and run it as a really good, partner-operated facility.”

The future of Telus Field has been in some doubt for years, given the decline of affiliated baseball in Canada generally and Edmonton specifically, and the impending development of the Rossdale neighbourhood where the park is located.

The last affiliated franchise in Edmonton was the Trappers of the Pacific Coast League. They were sold in 2003 by then-owners the Edmonton Eskimos to a Texas group led by famed major league pitcher Nolan Ryan.

Two independent teams followed, the Cracker-Cats and Capitals, with little success.

In February 2012, the independent North American League ceased operations and the Capitals went dark. That team was owned by the Edmonton Oilers.

In 2014, the city, which owns Telus Field, retained a consultancy firm and began an exhaustive investigation into the state of baseball in Edmonton. The report made it clear that affiliated professional baseball was unlikely to return due to financial and travel constraints.

That reality left Telus Field under momentary threat of demolition, but the city stepped in to ensure that no such hasty and irreversible decision was made.

In April 2015, council opened a five-year window in which Telus Field would remain accessible and directed administration to attract the highest level of baseball attainable.

Not an easy task.

For a time it was thought the saviour might be the independent American Association, which has a successful franchise in Winnipeg. The Goldeyes play out of a downtown ballpark, similar in size to Telus Field, and routinely lead that loop in attendance.

“The American Association people were supportive, but said you need an owner and you need money, ”Badger said.

It was thought at one time the Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG) was working on a deal to establish an American Association franchise, but that’s not the case.

“The Oilers said they’re not interested in continuing on in the process so they did not submit” a proposal, Badger said.

Should the city decide to incorporate Telus Field in a baseball district development, similar in concept but smaller in size than the downtown Ice District, the OEG might be interested.

“We remain interested in the long-term development of West Rossdale, but at this time baseball is not a priority,” the OEG said in a statement Friday.

The city’s short-term goal is to make Telus Field a viable facility, and the Prospects offer that opportunity. They play in the Western Major Baseball League, which will expand to 12 teams this summer when Fort McMurray joins existing franchises in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

The Prospects have more than tripled their average attendance at Telus Field in just four seasons, from 296 per game in 2012 to 1,053 per game in 2015.

However, those numbers are boosted disproportionately by crowds of 6,000 who take in the annual Canada Day game and fireworks.

The Prospects recently released a 24-game home schedule for 2016, which includes a July 3 doubleheader. They open at home on May 28, play seven games at Telus Field in June and 15 in July, prior to the playoffs.

While that doesn’t amount to much use of the facility, there is a plan to squeeze more life out of the place. Badger said the agreement with the proponent will include a provision for a minimum number of community access hours.

“So that when the proponent isn’t using the facility, there is community use all the time,” he said. “We want to animate it as much as we can in the next five years.”

But at 8,800 seats, the park is obviously overbuilt for the Prospects and minor baseball. Can it be scaled down to better fit into a Rossdale development plan? Will it be torn down at some point?

There is really no telling what happens to Rossdale or Telus Field after 2020, though there is assuredly no return to Edmonton’s glorious baseball past. For now, a modest future will do.

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